Milford allowed 12 hits and committed a multitude of errors, and managed just three runs against a team that had allowed 41 in its previous three games. On top of everything, it had to travel to Grafton Hill that night, a team that sat comfortably in first place in Zone 4.

Milford seemed poised for a slide. Instead, in logic-defying fashion, it went on a roll.

Suddenly snapping back to life, Milford shut out Grafton Hill 3-0. And just like that, the team that marched to a state championship last year was ready to defend its title.

"I think a lot of people may have doubted this group after that slow start," said Milford manager Steve DiVitto. "But I know the guys in the dugout and the coaching staff never doubted for a minute we could do something special. We knew we always had the ability to come back. The talent was there. It was just a matter of getting healthy and getting on the same page.

"And when that happened, it was a magical run."

After its defeat of Grafton Hill, Milford went 20-4 through the rest of the season, repeating as state champions and earning a berth to the Northeast Regional Tournament in Middletown, Connecticut.

And Post 59 looked prime to play even deeper in the summer, with a 4-1 lead in the seventh inning of the tournament final against Rocky Hill/Cromwell/Portland on Monday.

And then, for the first time since losing to Northborough, the magic that Milford summoned so many times vanished. RCP scored three times in the seventh, and walked off with a 5-4 victory in the bottom of the ninth, bringing an end to Milford’s season.

There were tears, naturally.

"They really wanted to get to the World Series," said DiVitto. "It was that close. It was at our fingertips. I think a lot of the guys could taste it."

In the end though, the loss served to illustrate just how successful Milford had been.

"When you look back at it, it was an awesome season," said Dan Mantoni. "We can call ourselves state champs, and we were one win away from going to North Carolina. As disappointing as it was this morning, you can still look back on it and say it was a great season."

For Mantoni, just the third five-year player in program history, the defeat brought his tremendous career with Milford to a close.

"I started playing for the team as a freshman (in high school) and it’s something special playing for this team," said Manonti. "It’s a well-known program and a winning program. Playing for a winning program when you’re young, it teaches you how to go about not only the game but many things in life, and I owe a lot to them and I appreciate everything they’ve done for me."

Also playing their last game for Post 59 was Dan Avery, David Samspon, Cam Cossette, Scott DeCapua and Brendan Pounds.

"It’s an honor to wear the Blue and Gold," said Cossette. "Words can’t explain how strong of a program Milford Legion is and how blessed we are to have a great fan base and great people behind us every single game and every single night. I’m going to miss that the most, for sure."

The season isn’t quite over yet. Milford will reconvene one final time for its annual end-of-season banquet on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Hoboken Club. It will give Post 59 one last chance to rehash all the memories — the comeback against Wachusett in the Zone 4 tournament, the victory over Newburyport to capture a second straight state title, the week it turned Middletown into Fino West.

"It was just a great group of guys to watch groove together," said DiVitto. "There was such team chemistry and they generally cared for one another. These guys and this coaching staff, we became a family. That’s very important for a staff to see their players gel as well as they did."

Care for some perspective?

"Out of 5,000 Legion teams in the country, they’re in the top 16," said DiVitto. "That’s an amazing accomplishment."

And on June 28, nobody would have thought it possible.

Except for them.

Craig Gilvarg can be reached at 508-626-4405 or cgilvarg@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @CraigGilvarg.

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